Top Posts

Library Scavenger Hunt: November

My tiredness laziness overcame me somewhat while assigning this month’s challenge, which was to read a book chosen by someone else, but thankfully I have good friends who are willing to put up with this kind of nonsense. 😊 I prevailed upon my friend Grace to pick something for me to read, and she very kindly came up with (and lent me) a set of journal entries from her favourite Antarctic explorer, which had a couple of advantages, those being 1) extreme shortness, and 2) ticking another continent off on my personal challenge to read a book set on every continent this year… The journal in question (from the anthology The Ends of the Earth, Volume 2: The Antarctic) is:

MAWSON LIVESDouglas Mawson

In January 1913 – towards the end of the Australian Antarctic Expedition, which he led – Douglas Mawson found himself stranded on his return to the Hut (the expedition’s base of operations) only a few days before they were due to leave Antarctica, his companions and dogs dead, and the vast majority of his food lost. For the ten days chronicled in this extract from his journal (Home of the Blizzard; 1915,1930), he struggled his way through the snow on foot, alone and starving.

I always find it somewhat challenging to review non-fiction, as there’s no way to talk about plot or character development in regards to real people and events. What’s left is the writing – something that Mawson does very well. He is well-spoken, his descriptions are vivid, and paired with the life-or-death situation that he was in, the journal is both gripping and engaging. Personally, I could have done without the stomach-turning description of the condition of his feet, but my reaction to it certainly proves its effectiveness. I’d definitely be open to reading more of his journals, though, realistically speaking, I don’t know if it’s something that I’d ever get around to.

[Find out more about the Library Scavenger Hunt by following this link!]